Blade of Insurgence
by oddishh
Summary: The memories come back fast, overwhelming his senses and practically causing him to faint. Guilt and anguish are the focal points of his current existence as he feels a long-lost heart beating within him. His only choice is to move forward. His only choice is to make things right.


_You can call this my ultimate wish-fulfillment for Kingdom Hearts III. In an effort to make my son happy, I will force him to endeavor on a multi-chapter quest of redemption and sad things. Thank you for joining me. Please enjoy your stay._

/

Cold.

Both the sensation and emotion overwhelmed Isa's being. He shivered, arms moving up to hug his torso. There was an emptiness, bleak and heavy, one that reminded him of when his family especially struggled with munny and they had to live by lantern-light for a week. It was during the dead of winter, at it's most merciless and frigid.

It took him a while, but when he did open his eyes it was blurry and bright. It was almost as if they were glued shut at the lids with how hard it was to initially open them. That and the fatigue still fogging his mind was enough to remind Isa of the rare occasion that he overslept.

He had little time to process anything before questions began to plague his mind. Where was Lea? Why did he feel this way? How long had he been asleep? Why was he on the floor?

Where was Lea?

He shouldn't be that far from him. They were together when-

" _Hold still. This is in the name of science and will only benefit you and your friend."_

 _"Yeah, and you kind of had it coming when you two kept busting in here."_

Screams. Anguish. Blood. _So much blood._

Isa jumped up immediately, ignoring his body's protest at doing so. Legs wobbly like jello, he turned on his heel (of a boot?) slightly to get a better view of his surroundings. His heart began to race, beating in his throat as memories rushed back to him.

 _Heartless. Promise. Organization. Seven. Eight. Loss. Betrayal. Lies. Death._

Immediately, the young man fell to his knees. He balled his fists until his knuckles went white, one cuticle tearing at the force. Head pounding and face hot, blood began to drip onto the marble floor below him and soon Isa knew that it was coming from his nose.

He heaved as the memories flooded in. Memories of a figure that had his face, had his voice, but wasn't him. _Was it him?_ The tears followed after, commingling with the blood already coagulating on the surface below him. Isa was ready to pass out from all this, from the rage and the guilt and the confusion. He shut his eyes, hoping to wake from this horrible nightmare next to Lea and-

"Well lookit at this. Rise and shine!"

Isa was quick to come back from near-unconsciousness at the voice. He forced himself into a sitting position, hands bracing himself up from behind.

The voice was immediately recognizable. The tone was too unique, accent distinct. The nonchalant guard he encountered several times stood in front of him, different but the same. Eyes now venomous gold instead of dark brown. At one point, Isa can recall a time he lacked his distinct scar and eyepatch.

"Had a bit of an accident there, Bluey?"

Oh. Isa took a hand to his nose, feeling the drying blood and trying to wipe at it but to no avail. He tried to avert the other man's gaze.

There were a million things he wanted to say, wanted to ask, but Isa simply shot him a glare for using that nickname.

"Oh! _Sorry._ Blueys are only supposed to call _each other_ Blueys." He smirked. "I'll just stick with Isa, then. Or should it be Saix now?"

 _Saix._

The word itself brought him the most bitter loathing he had felt in a very long time.

"That's _not_ me." Isa took in how cracked and painful his voice was, both in quality and feeling.

"So you do remember!" Braig clapped his hands together. "Now we have something, unlike with mister Master." He turned his head. "Hey X, he has his mem-oh!"

Standing in the doorway was a silver-haired man, mysterious and tall.

Flash.

 _Xemnas?_

Isa shuddered at the memories that flashed through his mind, breath ragged and pained.

 _"Do you truly wish to save your friend and yourself?"_

 _"Yes… more than anything."_

 _"Then take this. Accept it into the vacancy that once held your heart. It will make you strong enough to achieve your goals. Our goals."_

Isa gritted his teeth. He was an idiot, an absolute _idiot_.

"I see you're struggling with your memories. It must be a lot to process," 'X' began. "Do you know who I am?"

The blue-haired man stood to stiff legs, almost regretting it as the ache nearly made him sit back down. "I know you're not Xemnas. Are you his... Other?"

The man shook his head, "My name is Xehanort. I _am_ one of his Other's, but from a different time." He smiled. "But that is for another conversation, as it is quite complicated."

"I know this isn't Radiant Garden, either." Isa grimaced a little. "Where have you taken me?" He paused for a moment. "Where is Le-"

"Ya don't wanna be there anyway!" Braig declared, cutting him off. "That place 's in _shambles_."

Isa felt his heart skip a beat, hands clammy and cold. Still, he remained as stoic as he could. He looked to Xehanort for more answers.

"This place is called The World-"

"-That Never Was." Isa finished it without thinking.

Xehanort hummed thoughtfully. "Your recall is extraordinary for someone just recovered. Then again, you are still connected to him."

"To who?"

"Saix, your Nobody."

Isa narrowed his eyes. "I thought he was destroyed."

"No, quite the contrary," Xehanort said with a smirk. "He grew an existence of his own."

"Because of what Xemnas used to 'empower' me-him?" Isa was quick to distance himself from such a despicable being.

Braig nodded, "Yup. Good ol' X-face-heh technically you're X-face too-had a piece of X's heart over here. After all those years, it had time to mix and cohabit the one he was growing back. See, I made it simpler. I got a piece of Xehanort _before_ I became a Nobody!"

 _Why?_ Isa pushed the question to the back of his mind. "So, I am two separate beings? How is that even possible?"

"Your case is nearly as interesting as Sora's." Xehanort emphasized the name in an almost bitter way. The name brought guilt for Isa that hit him like a hammer to the gut, "Instead of being restored through the light of a Princess after your Nobody was born, you outright rejected Saix after your reformation rather than merging. It's truly fascinating."

Isa's eyes widened. "What do you mean by "rejected", exactly?"

"The new heart your Other grew. Your returned heart fought against it when the being called Saix was destroyed. Like antibodies fighting a virus, almost. After your restoration, Saix ended up here in the Realm of Nothingness. You ended up back at Radiant Garden, as your original self. As you are now." Xehanort smirked a little. "The link you have with your Other remains, however. You share his abilities granted by my elder self."

"No," Isa said firmly. "My powers come from the moon, from the race I was born into."

"You cannot deny they were empowered by us."

"But they are mine. You have no authority over me." Isa took a step back.

"Actually, we do!" Braig chimed in.

Isa's eyes narrowed. "You don't scare me."

"Nah," he began, "it's like a BOGO deal! We get you AND Saix. Now how's about you be our thirteenth member now so no one has to get hurt?"

"Why are you even doing this?" Isa asked lowly. "What do you get out of this deal with Xehanort? Power?"

Braig chuckled, "It's a bit more complicated than that, kiddo." His voice was considerably more sober with those words.

Isa considered his options. Should he run? No, that would get him nowhere. It didn't before and it sure as hell wouldn't now. They wouldn't just let him go. Different options flitted through his mind, but they always circled back to one simple option.

His blood went cold, veins filling with ice. The blue-haired man took a deep breath as he prepared to do the one thing he would have to do to even have a possibility of escape.

Kill or be killed.

The power of Levana, spirit of the moon, filled his bones and blood. He remembered the stories of the berserkers, who used this power to fight off enemies way back when. His memories cycled through the recovered glimpses of Saix's abilities, using his grief and distress at some of those images to fuel his power. Rage within him built up into a frenzy as Isa allowed himself to let go. A weapon was summoned, a New Moon. He was focused. He was ready.

Xehanort was quick to summon his blade as Isa fell into a berserk state. Braig readied his crossbows, giving some distance to avoid the now dangerous attacker. This was it. The moment that would define the rest of Isa's existence, however long it was.

He clashed with Xehanort first, blades connecting simultaneously. An aura encircled Isa, something awakening as any coherent thought became pure primal rage. Xehanort avoided his swings, Isa retaliating with blocks. Braig lined up a clear shot, but Isa's empowered form avoided them with ease.

Isa connected blows with Xehanort several times, so furious and powerful that even the arrogant man before him began to show signs of fear. Braig, as well, became more distressed with each missed shot. When one of them got too close, however, Isa redirected his rage to Braig, striking him down with a single slash. The older man cried out, crumbling into a heap. It was enough to injure, but not kill.

The silver-haired man was quickly assaulted by the enraged Isa. Optionless, he tried to talk to him. "I know what you were going to say before Braig cut you off. You were inquiring about Lea's whereabouts, Axel's. The truth is that he would never accept you now!"

This only drove Isa further, much to the other's dismay. Xehanort began to play it more defensively, unable to touch the moon-empowered man in front of him. He blocked and deflected, a smile once again forming as he began to realize that it was only a matter of time before…

In an instant, lucidity filled Isa's mind. The rage dissipated, leaving the blue-haired man a significantly less threatening adversary. Braig slowly got his feet, shaky and painful. Xehanort sauntered forward, weapon in hand. Isa swore he heard a 'whoosh' before he felt strong hands yank him down, pinning him down by the shoulders.

"Never forget these words," Xehanort said with a hint of malice. Isa struggled, thrashing against his captors and turning his head. It was no use.

"You belong to us."

As Xehanort held his Keyblade up, toward his own chest, Isa broke free of the person restraining him. Darkness enveloped him, and not even a second went by before he disappeared in a wisp of shadows.

/

 _"But I REALLY wanna know what's goin' on up there! I wanna know if the rumors are true~"_

 _"I doubt they're creating monsters up there, Lea."_

 _"C'mon, Isa! Aren't ya just a little curious?"_

 _"Of course I am, but I'd rather not get points on my permanent record. They target people like me, you know."_

 _"Aww, I'll take the blame! It_ was _my idea. I just need your...your-"_

 _"Superior intellect?"_

 _"Yeah, ha ha very funny! But actually kinda close. Like, common sense? No, I got that I think. Sev...Savviness! That's the word I'm lookin' for."_

 _"I'm flattered."_

 _"That's the point. Butter ya up so you'll do dumb things with me. C'mon, pleeease?"_

 _"Okay, fine. We'll give it a go. Why not?"_

 _"Oh yeah! We'll make it in the headlines, Is'! 'Two friends discover the deepest mysteries of Radiant Garden Castle.'"_

 _"Heh. This plan is so stupid."_

 _"I know! But it'll be_ fun! _"_

 _"Yeah, yeah. I guess you're right._ This _time."_

/

Isa felt the darkness that encircled him almost fizzle, leaving him in shock. He was beyond lost, completely unsure of what was going on or even how it was going on. The next thing he knew, Isa was in Radiant Garden. Or, what he _thought_ was Radiant Garden.

It was practically ruined. In shambles. Just like Braig had mentioned.

It was a puzzle as he tried to resolve in his head all that had transpired; between Saix, Xehanort, and the Organization he was remembering more and more with each passing moment.

Filled with utter confusion, grief, and guilt Isa did the only thing he could.

Move forward.


End file.
